Kale and Butternut Squash Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

I’ve got it, friends: the perfect winter side dish to serve at upcoming holiday feasts! It’s this kale and butternut squash salad with orange vinaigrette, and it’s just as flavorful as it sounds. Plus, it is oh-so festive and beautiful. I can guarantee that you’ll want this on your dinner table this holiday season.

While this salad takes a bit of prep, it is worth every second and can even be prepared ahead of time too. The other good news is that while the squash is roasting, you can work on all the other elements of the salad. The most complicated part is definitely deseeding the pomegranate, but if desired, you can buy (and pay extra, of course) a container of fresh pomegranate seeds. I have found that this method works best for getting the seeds out and the only tweak I make is quartering the pomegranate in the bowl of water before I thwack it. It exposes the seeds more and they pop out easier. A fresh pomegranate yields way more seeds than those little containers and it’s gratifying to do it yourself too!

There are just so many things I love about this beauty of a salad. It is all of the following and so much more:

light, yet satisfying

full of winter delights

super fresh

a sight for sore eyes

adorned with beautiful little jewels (aka pomegranate seeds)

pairs with nearly any protein

can be made ahead of time

doesn’t get soggy and retains its shape

I hope you decide to serve this beauty at your holiday gatherings this season. It’s not only gorgeous and flavorful, but a conversation piece too (at least I think so).

This kale and butternut squash salad with orange vinaigrette is a perfect festive side dish for the holiday season. It features fresh winter produce and pairs well with nearly any protein.

Course:
Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine:
Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free

Keyword:
holiday side dish, vegetable side dish, winter salad

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Salad:

4cupsbutternut squash,peeled and cubed

1Tbspavocado oil

1bunch curly kale,removed from stems and roughly chopped

1/4tspsea salt,plus more to taste for roasting squash

Black pepper,to taste

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

1small fennel bulb,thinly sliced by hand or with a mandoline

1/2cupraw or dry toasted pecans,roughly chopped

1/4 cupflat leaf parsley,roughly chopped

3/4cuppomegranate seeds

Orange vinaigrette:

2Tbspfresh-squeezed orange juice

1/2tspfresh-grated orange zest

3Tbspextra virgin olive oil

1tspraw honey

1/2tspDijon mustard

1/4tspsea salt or to taste

Black pepper,to taste

Instructions

For the salad:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. To the pan, add butternut squash cubes, avocado oil, and sea salt and black pepper to taste. Roast in oven for 45 minutes, stirring halfway through. Once done, set aside to cool.

Add chopped kale to a large bowl. Sprinkle on the 1/4 tsp sea salt and add a drizzle of olive oil. Then, massage with hands for 2-3 minutes to soften and flavor the kale.

Next, add the thinly sliced fennel, parsley, roasted butternut squash and pecans. Pour the dressing on top (instructions below) and toss to coat. Then gently mix in the pomegranate seeds.

For the orange vinaigrette:

Add all the dressing ingredients to a mason jar and shake vigorously. Alternatively, you can whisk all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Taste and adjust flavor as desired.

Recipe Notes

This is the easiest way I've found to seed a pomegranate with one catch -- I break the pomegranate into quarters in the water bowl after I pry it open with my hands. It makes the seeds come out even easier when you thwack it with a spoon!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Hi, Sarah! Thank you for the compliment on the salad. I agree on its beauty! Meanwhile, to keep things really fresh, I probably wouldn’t make it more than a day ahead of time. It does hold up really well though — even a couple days later, it still tastes great and isn’t soggy.

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Hi, my name is Alisa! I am a paleo recipe creator, personal trainer, and all around health and wellness enthusiast living in Portland, Oregon. I am passionate about living, moving and eating well, and love inspiring others to do so too. Read More…